The pitch that convinced Miyamoto to back Mario Rabbids (leggi l'articolo su Eurogamer)"That was crazy," said Soliani. "Because we worked even harder and I almost believed I had a heart attack. I went to the hospital. asking them to check my heart. Everything was fine, but I told them I'd been working Saturday and Sunday until 2AM and they told me: you're a moron and I needed to chill out. After I knew that I had no problem, I went back to work."

How Sierra and a Disgraced Cop Made the Most Reactionary Game of the 90s (leggi l'articolo su Waypoint)1979. Daryl Gates was the new Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Ken Williams and his wife Roberta were dreaming in their Simi Valley hot tub of striking it big in computer game development.

Why ‘Lady Bird’ and Its Awards Attention Feel So Important (leggi l'articolo su Slash Film)This is the biggest one for me, and for its star Saoirse Ronan. “I had never really read […] a young female heroine like that before, somebody who kind of very much sees herself as a heroine,” Ronan recently told W Magazine for their Screen Tests series. “You never see young girls actually, like, love themselves in films.”

To build a future, Italy's games industry must reckon with its past (leggi l'articolo su Gamesindustry.biz)In that respect, AESVI is basking in the afterglow of a significant step forward. After years of diligent work and effort on the part of its president, its members and, in particular, its secretary general Thalita Malagò, video games are now recognised as one of Italy's "creative industries", at last bringing it into line with music, cinema, fashion, and other artforms that Italian people consider part of their cultural heritage.

7 notable puzzle-platformers every dev should study (leggi l'articolo su Gamasutra)But there's much to learn here, and not just from their still-remarkable graphics. They convey intent in subtle touches of animation and sound and present worlds that are clearly alien and yet uncannily familiar. They surprise and awe with their sudden scripted scenes.

Let’s Begin Again - Sierra On-Line and the Origins of the Graphical Adventure Game (leggi l'articolo su Journal of Play)In discussing the emergence of Sierra On-Line and Infocom, we see already that our beginnings are more arbitrary than we would like to think. Neither company’s origin marks an absolute start; rather, both companies unfolded from the existing objects and relationships around them.

What Lightsaber Colors Can Teach Us About the ‘Star Wars’ Universe (leggi l'articolo su Slash Film)In the real world, the art and science of lightsabers is somewhat mundane. Original Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt came up with the iconic lightsaber sound by combining the hum of an idling projector with the electrical interference of some loose wires.

Ultima Underworld and the freedom to make bad choices (leggi l'articolo su Gamesindustry.biz)Where most RPGs expected players to create their own map, Underworld not only auto-mapped your exploits beautifully on virtual parchment, it allowed you to annotate the map freely and browse the entire game world - the perfect blend of convenience and immersion. Even so...I still have the classic poster map that came in the box!

Lair: What went wrong (leggi l'articolo su Polygon)The history of Lair intertwines with the history of Factor 5. Back in the late ‘80s, the German studio began working alongside Europe’s PC boom, plugging away on action games like Turrican (and its sequels) before switching over to consoles. In 1992, LucasArts and Factor 5 began a lasting relationship, beginning with the platformer Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures on Super Nintendo.

A tribute to Bob Wakelin, Ocean's legendary cover artist (leggi l'articolo su Retronauts)Bob Wakelin, who passed away on January 21st after a long battle with leukaemia, was one of the largely unseen driving forces behind Ocean Software's position at the very head of the games market in Europe. As much as Ocean's work is often derided these days, whether it's for their largely subpar console efforts or the incredible amount of movie tie-ins they released, one thing that cannot be denied is the incredible quality of Wakelin's cover art.

Why Sundance, America’s largest independent film festival, matters (leggi l'articolo su Vox)Sundance straddles two worlds: the big-name, award-winning movie world and the scrappy indie film world. So paying attention to the festival is a good way to catch the first inklings of Oscar buzz and to get a sense of the issues and topics that are motivating filmmakers and audiences.